From Virginia-
A 3-year-old property dispute between local Episcopalians and Anglicans will be played out in Virginia Supreme Court next week.
The state's high court will hear oral arguments beginning April 13.
Nine Virginia churches that broke away from the Episcopal Church in early 2007 to join a more conservative Anglican Church are still fighting to retain their properties, estimated to be worth as much as $40 million. To date, both churches have spent more than $5 million each in litigation costs, according to officials on both sides of the issue.
Among the area congregations now aligned with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America are, Church of the Apostles in Fairfax, Church of the Epiphany in Herndon, Church of Our Saviour in Oatlands, Truro in Fairfax City, and The Falls Church.
Citing a determination "to restore constitutional and legal protections for all churches in Virginia," the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia filed a petition this past year to appeal a 2009 Fairfax County Circuit Court decision upholding a controversial Civil War-era Virginia law called the "Division Statute."
The statute, Va. Code § 57-9, provides that when a religious denomination or diocese experiences a "division," member congregations may determine by majority vote which branch of the divided body they wish to join. It also states this determination governs the ownership of property held in trust for the congregation.
According to Henry D.W. Burt, secretary of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, the Episcopal Diocese will argue for reversal of the lower court's rulings regarding the division statute with two goals in mind: the restoration of Episcopal congregations to their original buildings, and the restoration of the ability of churches to organize and govern themselves according to their beliefs.
More here-
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/story.php?id=1339
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